The 2011 Brides PREview Thread
I thought it would be fun to start a thread where we can review our experiences with our vendors so far. It may help other brides looking for vendors or navigating the process, and it would also help us get a head start on our reviews. We'd also get a chance to review things that are important now, but that we might not include in the wedding review.
Here's mine so far
LIW - A
I love LIW. I've gotten a lot of great ideas. The reason there's no + is just that sometimes I feel like I'm just seeing so many things I can add add add to the wedding, and that's not my intention. I think LIW causes me to SPEND money more than save it, but what can you do.
RH - The Inn at New Hyde Park - So far I can't say enough good things about this place. After my original hall actually sold my date out from under me, Frank, the owner actually met with us after hours, gave us a complete tour and totally put our minds at ease. I really trust him. It's out of the budget we set, but I feel we're really getting alot. Every time we go in there we are greeted like family, which is great. We did our food tasting and the food was awesome!!!
Photo - Artisan A- for epics - Once again I can't say enough about Artisan. We postponed our wedding and other than the church, Artisan is the only vendor we stuck with. They were super nice and accomodating, and very understanding of our situation. We did e-pics, which came out great. Chuck came all the way from Happague to Brooklyn Botanic Garden to take the photos and when it turned out to be a cold and windy day, he offered to turn around and make the trip another day. He also has a great personality and put us both at ease. One thing I noticed about my e-pics though is that you don't actually see my engagement ring much in them, but I don't really mind. I've had it for 7 years, so the novelty has worn off a bit. Also I joked that he could put our pics on facebook that night, and he actually did, so we had the pics within hours.
Epic location - Brooklyn Botanic Garden A - Ok, so you're supposed to have a permit for 'commercial and wedding' photography, but I just paid for us and the photographer to get in. I called him 'cousin Chuck' LOL. The people at the gate said something, but when I made the 'cousin chuck' comment they said OK. At another point a security guard warned us to put away the reflector the photographer was using because it 'made it look like a professional'. So they were more looking out for us than being mean. I was a little nervous we'd get kicked out, but it was ok. You could always get a permit and avoid that, but I live in the edge. The place is just so beautiful and there are so many places to take photos there at all times of year. We planned out pics for the week before the cherry blossom festival, thinking that would be a safe time for the flowers to be on the trees, but the weather was so extreme, heat and rain that they had all fallen by that time, but it made for some gorgeous pics with the flowers on the ground.
Epic dress- Dress Barn - New Hyde Park. A I used to refuse to shop at Dress Barn because of the name but then I needed a dress for an occasion last year and fell in love. When I went for the epic dress the saleslady was so helpful in helping me find the right dress and also convincing me that I was a size smaller than I thought (I've lost weight). I thought the dress was really cute and light and wearable and not expensive. FH actually picked it. I would not have even tried it on if not for him. Kudos to FH.
EPic makeup- Me and Estee Lauder - A+ - I went to the EL counter and Macy's RF. They happenned to be doing an event with makeup artists and a woman named Barbara did a great job. She showed me how to put on the makeup. I spent about $150, but that was because it really was time for me to buy new makeup anyway, and I used her advice to apply it myself the next day. It came out great IMO.
[Video - Couped Up - Obviously we have no product yet at all, but dealings with Rob have been great. FH's dad passed away in the middle of the process and he was really understanding about it. I feel the price he gave us was great. We were a little concered about meeting at Starbucks instead of at an office, but he's very professional, and if that's how he keeps overhead and prices low, more power to him.
Flowers- Flowers by Brian- Danielle at Howard Beach is a doll. I must have driven her so crazy. I went in there knowing what I wanted and not, and we went back and forth for hours. In the end, my sample CP was gorgeous. We made a few tweaks and I just love it. Will go back soon for bo-ks now that I did BM gowns. She's just really patient and even though I was fuzzy with articulating my vision, she did make it come to life.
Bridal Gown Shopping - Macy's Manhasset
Bridal Gown - A
Bridesmaids Gowns C+
First for Bridal- I knew I wanted a Demetrios gown and I went in February when they had a trunk show. I was picking some gowns to try on when I saw a bride in a gown that looked so Cinderella-esque. On the hanger, I never would have chosen it, but after seeing it on her, I had to try it. I tried it and loved it. Someone else saw it on me and tried it and bought it too. I did go back and forth between 3 dresses several times before putting down a deposit. Then I went back in April to show my MOH the gowns, and went back and forth a million times then. Finally I ordered it in August. They were so patient with my in my indecisiveness. hehe I guess they see it all the time. The place is no Kleinfeld, but I felt the service was good for that portion. The one thing that was weird was that when I came back to order they hadn't told my consultant I was coming so she was busy and someone else was helping me and she made some comment to me about them trying to steal her sales.
For Bridesmaid gowns it was another story. We got off the wrong parkway exit, so i called to verify that we were going the right way. The rep on the phone laughed at me, and then told me we were going the right way. We weren't. I called again and someone else picked up who had no idea how to tell us where to go. Finally I called my BIL and he helped us. When I got there, I was greeting with 'you know your appointment was 10:15, right?'
Then there was another bride there, which was fine, it's a big place, but she was doing her gown AND BM gowns, and she was there with about 15 BM, and each of them seemed to have a mom and/or sister with her, so it was just a mob scene and they took over the place. They had all the chairs, and were even sitting on the little risers where you would stand if you had a gown on. So we opted to sit in the back where the dressing rooms are because I really didn't want my girls to have to parade out in front of 30 people. But then the problem was they only brought us one chair, and the other bride, instead of having each girl try on a differnet dress had each girl try on the same dress in turn, so there was a constant parade of girls passing through. The consultants kept disappearing and I was left to clip my girls into the dresses. My sister is plus size, and only after another consultant came by did she say there was a plus size sample in the back so my sister could actually try on a gown. We picked the gowns, ordered them. Some girls were offered to pay half now half and pickup, some weren't. I had mentioned that my sister needed a shawl and it did not get ordered, nor did I get a swatch. I called and they did order the shawl and she says she's going to mail me a swatch, so we'll see.
Zappos.com A+ - Love them. Fast delivery, easy returns. I ordered a few pairs of shoes and returned the ones I didn't want. Easy as pie.
STDs: MagnetStreet.com A+. I actually got $100 gift certificate for doing a phone/online survey thing with them which I used toward my STDs. I love the customization. They were pretty easy to make. I couldn't get the fonts the size I wanted them so I put that in special instructions and they fixed it and sent me a proof right away. They were very good quality and came in a nice box![]()
I don't know if people really went to the website based on the magnets so I wish I had done carrier cards, but I am happy with the STDs. I did the large square magnets.
Invitations *Her*/'She who must not be named' Tezza from Evenst@ar P@perie - A
At first I was not going to use Tess@ because she's XXXed out on LIW. I actually spoke with TPTB about why that is. I decided that it wasn't worth me not using her in light of her fabulous work. Also, the prices are really good for custom especially considering how inexpensive her addressing services are. I was pretty indecisive at first, although I did point out one invitation from her portfolio I liked. I was disappointed that the first mock up was basically an exact copy of that. It was a good starting point though and she made me I think 6 or 7 designs until I found the right one. She was generally really easy to deal with. I did have one minor communication snafu with her, but she did apologize and make it right within 24 hours. My invitations are beautiful and unique and I can't get over how gorgeous the envelopes are! they match the invitations perfectly. SO LOVE!
Camelot Limo - I seriously thought all the raves about Joe were due to him bribing brides to rave about him online, but they're all true. He's just a great guy who cares. The prices are great and I feel very confident that things will work out well.
Tuxedo Park So far A- . We were 40 min late for our appointment, but they took us anyway and were very patient. I think it's so cool that they do fitting parties and the space is really elegant and classy. The minus comes in because FH had to pay for his entire tux up front, which was kind of odd, and it included the cost of renting shoes, etc when we said he wasn't necessarily going to rent their shoes. Hopefully it'll even out and they'll let us apply that money to someone else's suit. I really like their selection and the place itself just seems nice.
Pre-Cana - Diocese of Brooklyn Interfaith - A We actually had a GREAT time at Pre-Cana. We were disappointed to be let out 2 hours early (or at least i was) because I felt it was a lot of fun to communicate with each other, etc.The lunch was even good! It wasn't at all intimidating. It gets an A instead of an A+ because the couple wasn't interfaith and while they were sensitive to interfaith issues I really would have appreciated a follow up session or more information about dealing with interfaith specific issues.
Here's mine so far
LIW - A
I love LIW. I've gotten a lot of great ideas. The reason there's no + is just that sometimes I feel like I'm just seeing so many things I can add add add to the wedding, and that's not my intention. I think LIW causes me to SPEND money more than save it, but what can you do.
RH - The Inn at New Hyde Park - So far I can't say enough good things about this place. After my original hall actually sold my date out from under me, Frank, the owner actually met with us after hours, gave us a complete tour and totally put our minds at ease. I really trust him. It's out of the budget we set, but I feel we're really getting alot. Every time we go in there we are greeted like family, which is great. We did our food tasting and the food was awesome!!!
Photo - Artisan A- for epics - Once again I can't say enough about Artisan. We postponed our wedding and other than the church, Artisan is the only vendor we stuck with. They were super nice and accomodating, and very understanding of our situation. We did e-pics, which came out great. Chuck came all the way from Happague to Brooklyn Botanic Garden to take the photos and when it turned out to be a cold and windy day, he offered to turn around and make the trip another day. He also has a great personality and put us both at ease. One thing I noticed about my e-pics though is that you don't actually see my engagement ring much in them, but I don't really mind. I've had it for 7 years, so the novelty has worn off a bit. Also I joked that he could put our pics on facebook that night, and he actually did, so we had the pics within hours.
Epic location - Brooklyn Botanic Garden A - Ok, so you're supposed to have a permit for 'commercial and wedding' photography, but I just paid for us and the photographer to get in. I called him 'cousin Chuck' LOL. The people at the gate said something, but when I made the 'cousin chuck' comment they said OK. At another point a security guard warned us to put away the reflector the photographer was using because it 'made it look like a professional'. So they were more looking out for us than being mean. I was a little nervous we'd get kicked out, but it was ok. You could always get a permit and avoid that, but I live in the edge. The place is just so beautiful and there are so many places to take photos there at all times of year. We planned out pics for the week before the cherry blossom festival, thinking that would be a safe time for the flowers to be on the trees, but the weather was so extreme, heat and rain that they had all fallen by that time, but it made for some gorgeous pics with the flowers on the ground.
Epic dress- Dress Barn - New Hyde Park. A I used to refuse to shop at Dress Barn because of the name but then I needed a dress for an occasion last year and fell in love. When I went for the epic dress the saleslady was so helpful in helping me find the right dress and also convincing me that I was a size smaller than I thought (I've lost weight). I thought the dress was really cute and light and wearable and not expensive. FH actually picked it. I would not have even tried it on if not for him. Kudos to FH.
EPic makeup- Me and Estee Lauder - A+ - I went to the EL counter and Macy's RF. They happenned to be doing an event with makeup artists and a woman named Barbara did a great job. She showed me how to put on the makeup. I spent about $150, but that was because it really was time for me to buy new makeup anyway, and I used her advice to apply it myself the next day. It came out great IMO.
[Video - Couped Up - Obviously we have no product yet at all, but dealings with Rob have been great. FH's dad passed away in the middle of the process and he was really understanding about it. I feel the price he gave us was great. We were a little concered about meeting at Starbucks instead of at an office, but he's very professional, and if that's how he keeps overhead and prices low, more power to him.
Flowers- Flowers by Brian- Danielle at Howard Beach is a doll. I must have driven her so crazy. I went in there knowing what I wanted and not, and we went back and forth for hours. In the end, my sample CP was gorgeous. We made a few tweaks and I just love it. Will go back soon for bo-ks now that I did BM gowns. She's just really patient and even though I was fuzzy with articulating my vision, she did make it come to life.
Bridal Gown Shopping - Macy's Manhasset
Bridal Gown - A
Bridesmaids Gowns C+
First for Bridal- I knew I wanted a Demetrios gown and I went in February when they had a trunk show. I was picking some gowns to try on when I saw a bride in a gown that looked so Cinderella-esque. On the hanger, I never would have chosen it, but after seeing it on her, I had to try it. I tried it and loved it. Someone else saw it on me and tried it and bought it too. I did go back and forth between 3 dresses several times before putting down a deposit. Then I went back in April to show my MOH the gowns, and went back and forth a million times then. Finally I ordered it in August. They were so patient with my in my indecisiveness. hehe I guess they see it all the time. The place is no Kleinfeld, but I felt the service was good for that portion. The one thing that was weird was that when I came back to order they hadn't told my consultant I was coming so she was busy and someone else was helping me and she made some comment to me about them trying to steal her sales.
For Bridesmaid gowns it was another story. We got off the wrong parkway exit, so i called to verify that we were going the right way. The rep on the phone laughed at me, and then told me we were going the right way. We weren't. I called again and someone else picked up who had no idea how to tell us where to go. Finally I called my BIL and he helped us. When I got there, I was greeting with 'you know your appointment was 10:15, right?'
Then there was another bride there, which was fine, it's a big place, but she was doing her gown AND BM gowns, and she was there with about 15 BM, and each of them seemed to have a mom and/or sister with her, so it was just a mob scene and they took over the place. They had all the chairs, and were even sitting on the little risers where you would stand if you had a gown on. So we opted to sit in the back where the dressing rooms are because I really didn't want my girls to have to parade out in front of 30 people. But then the problem was they only brought us one chair, and the other bride, instead of having each girl try on a differnet dress had each girl try on the same dress in turn, so there was a constant parade of girls passing through. The consultants kept disappearing and I was left to clip my girls into the dresses. My sister is plus size, and only after another consultant came by did she say there was a plus size sample in the back so my sister could actually try on a gown. We picked the gowns, ordered them. Some girls were offered to pay half now half and pickup, some weren't. I had mentioned that my sister needed a shawl and it did not get ordered, nor did I get a swatch. I called and they did order the shawl and she says she's going to mail me a swatch, so we'll see.
Zappos.com A+ - Love them. Fast delivery, easy returns. I ordered a few pairs of shoes and returned the ones I didn't want. Easy as pie.
STDs: MagnetStreet.com A+. I actually got $100 gift certificate for doing a phone/online survey thing with them which I used toward my STDs. I love the customization. They were pretty easy to make. I couldn't get the fonts the size I wanted them so I put that in special instructions and they fixed it and sent me a proof right away. They were very good quality and came in a nice box
Invitations *Her*/'She who must not be named' Tezza from Evenst@ar P@perie - A
At first I was not going to use Tess@ because she's XXXed out on LIW. I actually spoke with TPTB about why that is. I decided that it wasn't worth me not using her in light of her fabulous work. Also, the prices are really good for custom especially considering how inexpensive her addressing services are. I was pretty indecisive at first, although I did point out one invitation from her portfolio I liked. I was disappointed that the first mock up was basically an exact copy of that. It was a good starting point though and she made me I think 6 or 7 designs until I found the right one. She was generally really easy to deal with. I did have one minor communication snafu with her, but she did apologize and make it right within 24 hours. My invitations are beautiful and unique and I can't get over how gorgeous the envelopes are! they match the invitations perfectly. SO LOVE!
Camelot Limo - I seriously thought all the raves about Joe were due to him bribing brides to rave about him online, but they're all true. He's just a great guy who cares. The prices are great and I feel very confident that things will work out well.
Tuxedo Park So far A- . We were 40 min late for our appointment, but they took us anyway and were very patient. I think it's so cool that they do fitting parties and the space is really elegant and classy. The minus comes in because FH had to pay for his entire tux up front, which was kind of odd, and it included the cost of renting shoes, etc when we said he wasn't necessarily going to rent their shoes. Hopefully it'll even out and they'll let us apply that money to someone else's suit. I really like their selection and the place itself just seems nice.
Pre-Cana - Diocese of Brooklyn Interfaith - A We actually had a GREAT time at Pre-Cana. We were disappointed to be let out 2 hours early (or at least i was) because I felt it was a lot of fun to communicate with each other, etc.The lunch was even good! It wasn't at all intimidating. It gets an A instead of an A+ because the couple wasn't interfaith and while they were sensitive to interfaith issues I really would have appreciated a follow up session or more information about dealing with interfaith specific issues.
